eggplant curry recipe

December 2, 2010

Well, I've finally made that eggplant curry I was talking about making a while back. I've actually been quite amazed to see cheap eggplants already making their ways into stores this early on in the season, but you would never hear me complaining! Oh no, no. I'm really loving them right now. That being said, it has been a long and winding road, learning to love eggplants. I've never not liked them, I think it's been more a case of working in too many cafes where the done thing was to slather slices in way to much oil and chargrill. Ick.

Prepared in this way, the eggplant cooks down into meltingly soft mouthfuls that are full of flavour having soaked up all those fragrant spices and tomatoes.

I know a lot of people are scared off by long winded Indian recipes, with numerous ingredients and steps to follow. But this one I assure you is really straight forward. I have eliminated a few of the usual steps to not only make it faster to prepare, but a damn site healthier too. The recipe this was based on, deep-fried the eggplant first. I have chosen to use a onion base to give the same rich, deep flavour without all the fat. The trick is though, you really do have to cook the onion out for the full 10 minutes. Watch it, and stir often. But don't be scared to take it to almost burning point! I mean, you obviously don't want it to be burnt, but get it as close as you can. The depth of flavour this gives is mind-boggling, even more so if you use the ghee or clarified butter to cook it in. (I've included a recipe below for both).
I also don't bother with salting my eggplants. This step used to be essential to release the bitterness in most eggplants. But I find nowadays, that most eggplants if they are nice, young, freshly picked ones without big black seeds inside, they don't require this step.

As with most curries, the flavour of this really improves over time, so making it a day ahead is not a bad idea. Or make more than enough, so you have some leftovers for the following day.

eggplant curry recipeAs mentioned above, like most curries this recipe keeps well, and actually improves with time. If you have leftovers simply reheat the next day, re-check seasoning, adding more salt if needed and serve on freshly steamed rice. I like to use ghee (see recipe below) in curries for the authentic flavour it gives. It is lactose-free, but if you avoid dairy altogether simply use a neutral vegetable oil like rice bran oil. I like to use whole cumin seeds, but by all means use ground cumin if that's what you have. Make sure you use regular brown onions in this recipe, red onions have a higher sugar content and tend to burn too easily in curries like this, where long, slow cooking is required. Serves 4-6

2 medium (800g/1lb 12oz) eggplants (aubergine)

3 Tbsp ghee/vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, grated

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds/ground cumin

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne or a small pinch of chilli powder

1 tsp sea salt

400g tin (14oz) chopped tomatoes

a small handful of fresh coriander/cilantro leaves to garnish (optional)

Wash eggplants and dice into 2 cm cubes.

Heat ghee/oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until a deep golden brown colour. (Be patient and don't be tempted to rush this stage).

Add the grated ginger, crushed garlic, fennel and cumin seeds. Cook for about 2 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne/chilli powder and salt. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the diced eggplant and stir well to coat evenly with spices. Pour in the tin of chopped tomatoes, give it a big stir, then place the lid on and continue to cook over low-medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Check and stir a few times to ensure it's not catching on the bottom. Turn temperature down a little if need be.

When the sauce has thickened and the eggplant is meltingly soft, check the seasoning once more. Serve sprinkled with coriander/cilantro leaves and steamed rice. Enjoy!

ghee recipeGhee is so easy to make at home and is a great lactose-free alternative to butter in cooking. It heats to a high temperature without burning and gives a lovely buttery flavour. Clarified butter can be used in place of ghee and also has very low levels of lactose, if any. Because ghee has no milksolids it keeps really well at room temperature. I store mine in a glass jar on the bench for up to 1-2 months. You can make it in any amounts you like, but I tend to make at least 500g (1 pound) at a time.

500g (1 pound) unsalted butter

Place the butter in a small pot. Bring slowly to the boil over a low heat and continue to boil gently for around 10-15 minutes.

To take it further to ghee, simply cook for the full 10-15 minutes. In this time any foam left will drop to the bottom, combine with the milk solids and go all nutty and brown. This gives the ghee a lovely toasted flavour. Carefully pour the clear amber liquid into a glass jar, leaving behind the white sediment. Allow to cool and store either at room temperature or in the fridge.

46 Comments

Emma, this looks wonderful. I saw some eggplants today at the market and I passed them up because I didn't have this recipe yet. Now I'll have to find some again so that I can try this! Thanks for posting it.

Mmmm yum, looks delicious! We cook a lot of curries in the winter, which are especially good with homemade naan. I have mixed feelings about eggplant, I think it's a texture thing… But, this does look really good, maybe I will have to give it a go again and re-evaluate my feelings!

i make your curry and it is delicious. my brother who does not like aubergines, love this dish. just a little concern. i am not sure why each time i cook curry, it has a slight bitter taste. can you tell me why this happens?

Hi vi vian, When you talk about the curry being bitter, are we talking about eggplant curry or just curries in general? If it is eggplant curry you are talking about, make sure you choose nice young eggplants that don't have large black seeds inside. If they are older and have large seeds you need to salt them to remove the natural bitterness. Simply chop the eggplant, sprinkle with a little salt, leave 30 minutes, rinse off with water and pat dry before continuing on with the recipe.If it is other curries you are talking about, are you using tinned tomatoes by any chance? In the sauce base? These are way more acidic than regular tomatoes and I like to add a few teaspoons of sugar to counter-balance the bitterness. Failing that, are you burning the spices at any stage? These can cause bitter flavours too. Make sure when you cook the spices you add them in the order given in the recipe. Generally the whole spices get cooked first before briefly adding the ground spices. Hope that helps. Please to write back if you had any further questions I may be able to help you with -emm

hello,i made this last week and while it did turn out lovely, i thought the subsequent leftovers tasted better compared to the first night we made it. the flavors had more time to meld & mingle. thank you for posting this!

Thanks I made those bowls myself! But sadly left them back in NZ when we made the move to Western Australia. And yes, the lactose is in the milk solids of butter, which is left behind on the bottom of the pan when boiled. Just like magic!

Hello there,I made this tonight and it was beautiful. I haven't always been a fan of eggplant but my local indian place makes a great Eggplant dish and I had been looking around for a recipe for something similar. This was it. Have to say again it was fab.

Quick question though. My family like their food a bit milder. Would you suggest halving the spices or maybe removing one of them?

Oh yes i think that is what may have happened. My partner who made a yuck face at the thought of eggplant LOVED it!! So im making more today!! Im going to us more onion and a bit more chopped tomato and its sauce. Super delish thank you!!! Ill let youi know how turns out

Anonymous

April 7, 2013 at 9:20 am

Hi Emma, I am planning on cooking this tonight (as in tonight European time) and just on the off chance you see this…Do I put in the fennel seeds without crushing or grinding them? I have never made curry from scratch and it is just something I stumbled over, since I don't know whether they soften or taste good when left whole. Franziska

Hi Franziska,thanks for your message, I tend to just chuck the fennel seeds in whole, but by all means you can crush then if you'd prefer. It's only 1 teaspoon of them, so the flavour they give is not overly strong anyway.xx Enjoy!

Twinkie_hr

September 4, 2013 at 9:36 pm

I love eggplants and can eat them in any possible way. I just made this recipe tonight for my lunch tomorrow. I am doing the JJ Virgin week with no dairy, gluten, sugar- and this recipe is exactly what I need. But instead of canned, I used a fresh ripe homegrown-by-my-mom tomato and I can not wait until lunch tomorrow! This recipe is a keeper.

I bought an eggplant (aubergine) the other day with no idea what to do with it, stumbled upon this recipe and have just made and eaten it. Really delicious and great instructions. I feel inspired and chefy! Thank you 🙂

Anonymous

October 28, 2013 at 4:28 pm

I tried this recipe some time ago and even my husband not being a big fan of eggplant really loved it. I would recommend it to anyone, it is so easy to do. Thanks for this great recipe. I have served it with some quinoa.

Hi! I am a huge fan of curry and this looks DELISH. Better yet I have all of the ingredients….minus the turmeric and fennel seeds. Is it possible to replace some (portion) of the spices with curry powder?